Ela was born in Amesbury, Wiltshire in 1187, the only child and heiress of William FitzPatrick, 2nd Earl of Salisbury, Sheriff of Wiltshire and Eléonore de Vitré. In 1196, she succeeded her father as suo jure 3rd Countess of Salisbury. There is a story that immediately following her father's death she was imprisoned in a castle in Normandy by one of her paternal uncles who wished to take her title and enormous wealth for himself. According to the legend, Ela was eventually rescued by William Talbot, a knight who had gone to France where he sang ballads under windows in all the castles of Normandy until he received a response from Ela. In 1198, Ela's mother married her fourth husband, Gilbert de Malesmains.
Marriage and issue
In 1196, the same year she became countess and inherited her father's numerous estates, Ela married William Longespée, an illegitimate son of King Henry II, by his mistress Ida de Tosny. The couple had been betrothed earlier but Ela was the King's ward until she reached the age of majority. William was approximately 13 years older than Ela. After the marriage, Longespée became 3rd Earl of Salisbury by right of his wife. The Continuator of Florence recorded that their marriage had been arranged by King Richard I, who was William's legitimate half-brother. Together William and Ela had at least eight or possibly nine children:
William II Longespée, titular Earl of Salisbury, married in 1216 Idoine de Camville, daughter of Richard de Camville and Eustache Basset, by whom he had four children. William was killed while on crusade at the Battle of Mansurah. His son William III Longespée died in 1257, in the lifetime of his grandmother Ela. Ela's heiress was William III's daughter Margaret Longespée who died in 1310.
Ida II de Longespée, married Sir Walter FitzRobert, son of Robert Fitzwalter, by whom she had issue including Ela FitzWalter, wife of William de Odyngsells. Ela's and Williams's grandsons include William de Clinton and John de Grey.
Mary Longespée, married. No issue.
Pernel Longespée.
, founded in 1229 by Ela, Countess of Salisbury
Later life
In 1225, Ela's husband William was shipwrecked off the coast of Brittany, upon returning from Gascony. He spent months recovering at a monastery on the Island of Ré in France. He died at Salisbury Castle on 7 March 1226 just days after arriving in England. Ela inherited the post of Sheriff of Wiltshire and held that position for two years following her husband's death. She never remarried; some historians suggest that she did not remarry because her new husband would have become the Earl and she wanted that role reserved for her eldest son. Three years later in 1229, Ela founded Lacock Abbey in Wiltshire as a nunnery of the Augustinian order. In 1238, she gave up all rights to the county of Wiltshire. She entered the abbey as a nun; she was made Abbess of Lacock in 1240, and held the post until 1257. The Book of Lacock recorded that Ela founded the monasteries at Lacock and Hinton in Somerset. During her tenure as abbess, Ela obtained many rights for the abbey and village of Lacock. She gave up that role in 1243 due to age and health issues. Ela died on 24 August 1261 and was buried in Lacock Abbey. The inscription on her tombstone, written in Latin, reads:
Below lie buried the bones of the venerable Ela, who gave this sacred house as a home for the nuns. She also had lived here as holy abbess and Countess of Salisbury, full of good works
Ela has been described as having been "one of the two towering female figures of the mid-13th century", the other one being Margaret de Quincy, Countess of Lincoln.
